Flyers visit Caps in clash between struggling teams

(Sports Network) - The Philadelphia Flyers will try to create some momentum
ahead of an upcoming homestand as they conclude a four-game road trip on
Friday against the equally-struggling Washington Capitals.

The Flyers began the season with three straight losses before picking up a home win over the New York Rangers on Jan. 24. They then kicked off their swing with a 7-1 win at Florida, but have followed up with back-to-back setbacks to Tampa Bay and the Rangers by a 7-2 margin.

It was a tight game in New York on Tuesday, but the Flyers failed to take
advantage of their power-play chances and lost a 2-1 decision to the
Blueshirts.

Ilya Bryzgalov made 26 saves and Kimmo Timonen scored a power-play goal near
the midway point of the third period, but Philadelphia went 1-for-6 overall on
the man advantage.

That was certainly true of forward Danny Briere, who was credited with 10
shots on goal to match a career high. He skated on a line with captain Claude
Giroux and winger Wayne Simmonds on Thursday as Laviolette looks to find some
offense for a club that has scored more than two goals just once in seven
games.

The Flyers, who begin a four-game homestand on Saturday, have won three
straight and five of their past seven meetings with the Capitals. They have
also taken the last three encounters in Washington D.C., where the Caps return
after dropping two games in Canada.

After picking up their first victory of the season at home on Jan. 27, the
Capitals dropped a pair of 3-2 decisions in Ottawa and Toronto, the latter
coming on Thursday night.

Washington carried a 2-1 lead into the third period thanks to goals from Alex
Ovechkin and Joel Ward, but the Maple Leafs scored a pair of goals just over
two minutes apart.

"We're just giving up stuff that we shouldn't be giving up," Capitals forward
Joey Crabb said. "When you have leads going into the third period, we should
be closing those out."

Michal Neuvirth made 37 saves in defeat, one that saw the Caps kill off seven
of Toronto's eight power plays. They fell to 1-5-1 on the season and begin a
three-game homestand with this game.